I’m From Driftwood – Nathan Manske and His Gay True Stories from Around the World
I stumbled across a neat site today I wanted to tell you about. I’M FROM DRIFTWOOD – By New Yorker Nathan Manske.
Nathan Manske is the creator and editor of the gay, true-stories blog I’m From Driftwood and a freelance copywriter. He is indeed from Driftwood, Texas, but has lived in Brooklyn, New York since 2003.
So what’s the point of all these true stories by gay people from all over? There’s a story for that.
He says, The morning after I watched the Gus Van Sant-directed, Sean Penn-starring, Dustin Lance Black-written Milk, would you believe I was inspired?
But funny enough, what inspired me was Milk more so than Milk. An image I recalled wasn’t even in the film. It was a photo of Supervisor Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S., riding on the hood of a car in a San Francisco Gay Pride march, holding a sign that reads, “I’m From Woodmere, N.Y.” The sign was intended to show how far people came to attend the San Francisco rally, but it meant something more to me. It meant that there are gay people in every small town and every big city across America and the world. I was thinking about that photo in between assaults on the snooze button and I responded to Harvey’s sign. I’m from Driftwood.
There are gay stories from every corner of the Earth and I think they should be told. But why? What does it mean??
To the gay teens struggling to come out and deal with their sexuality, who to this day still attempt suicide 4 times more than straight kids, it says “you are not alone.” Other people have dealt with similar situations, families, communities and churches, and have overcome and are now living happy lives. It can happen for you, too. It gets soooo much better, I promise. Hang in there, kiddo.
And to the people who don’t support equal rights, it says we’re not all that different afterall. We all have stories and problems and loves and lives just like everyone else. So maybe we should all be treated like everyone else, too.
Check it out – and maybe you’ll be inspired to share YOUR story!
